What are my options for removing a roommate who has stopped paying rent? They’re not on the tenancy agreement.

If you’re a tenant, and you rent to a roommate who lives with you, the roommate is not protected by the Residential Tenancy Act. So the law about notice to end a tenancy doesn’t apply. The Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre explains this in detail. (On the other hand, tenants are protected under the law. Tenants rent directly from the landlord under a tenancy agreement.)

Instead, what matters is what the two of you agreed to. You might have a formal roommate agreement. Or maybe there’s a string of emails or text messages discussing the arrangement. An oral agreement is also a valid contract.

The law requires roommates to comply with the terms of their agreements. A good first step is figuring out what, if anything, was agreed about ending the living arrangement. When are you allowed to ask your roommate to leave? How much notice did each party have to give? Did the two of you ever consider these issues? If so, you’ll need to act accordingly.

If there was no agreement

If you never discussed what happens if one of you wants out, then the legal principle of reasonable notice applies. Each party must give the other reasonable notice to end the contract. How much notice is “reasonable”?  In this decision and this one, the Civil Resolution Tribunal decided that one month was reasonable notice to end a roommate relationship. We explain this more here.

Steps to consider

If the roommate is still refusing to leave, you have limited options. Here are some things you should know:

• You can’t get help from the Residential Tenancy Branch to help evict your roommate. They don’t hear disputes involving tenants and roommates who are not on the tenancy agreement.

• Unless there’s a threat to safety involved, the police generally don’t get involved in roommate disputes. So it isn’t appropriate to call the police to remove a person from a rental unit. Even when there’s a landlord-tenant relationship, the police can only be involved in limited circumstances.

So what are your options? First, talk to your roommate. Learn about their concerns. Listen. Explain your understanding of any agreement you’d previously come to about ending the tenancy. Try to come up with a practical solution together. And put any new agreement you have in writing.

If your landlord consents, changing the locks could be a last-resort option. Don’t make this decision lightly, though. You could be ordered to pay damages or other money if your roommate takes legal action against you. In this case, the Civil Resolution Tribunal found that the tenant breached the contractual agreement with their roommate because they changed the locks too early. The tribunal found that it was a fundamental term of the agreement for the tenant to provide the roommate with access to the unit in exchange for rent.

If you are thinking of changing the locks, put everything in writing. Let your roommate know that you’re ending the current living arrangement. In the written notice, give a deadline by which they need to be out of the rental. At the same time, give them a (written) heads up that you will change the locks after such time. Remember, you must give them reasonable notice. 

If all attempts to work things out with your roommate break down, you may need to start a legal action. Because these kinds of disputes fall outside the Residential Tenancy Act, bringing an action for damages is, unfortunately, often the only way to resolve them. The Civil Resolution Tribunal handles disputes under $5,000. The good news is this online tribunal is less expensive than going to court. And you can use it without the help of a lawyer.